Thursday, May 15, 2008

According to a story in the Wall Street Journal, the recession that many economists said was inevitable has either taken a detour or been postponed:

A funny thing happened to the economy on its way to recession: It's taken a detour.

That, at least, is the view of a growing number of economists -- including some who not long ago were saying a recession was all but inevitable. They note that stock and credit markets have steadily improved since the Federal Reserve intervened to keep Bear Stearns Cos. from bankruptcy in early March, while a series of economic reports have been stronger than expected.

Economists also cite swift policy responses, including a sharp reduction in interest rates by the Fed -- to 2% from 5.25% last September -- and the distribution of fiscal-stimulus checks to millions of Americans, as factors possibly easing the downturn...

Wachovia now puts the odds of recession at 45%, down from 90% in April, and expects growth in gross domestic product of 0.6% at an annual rate in the first and second quarters of this year, followed by 1.2% growth in the third and fourth quarters. While he doesn't expect a recession, he says growth will be very weak through next year.

Indeed, plenty of economic warning signs remain, as reflected in plunging consumer confidence data and polls reflecting deep unease among voters. Rising prices for food and other commodities are prompting Americans to trim some spending and stoking concerns about inflation. The ongoing run-up in oil prices has pushed the average price of a gallon of gasoline to $3.73 as of Tuesday, according to AAA, the automobile group. Home prices continue to decline and many economists expect that to depress spending in the months ahead...

Job losses, meanwhile, have been less severe than they usually are in recessions. And many economists think the government's earliest estimate of first-quarter GDP growth -- 0.6% -- will be revised upward. After reviewing the retail-sales data, economists at Global Insight, a Waltham, Mass.-based forecasting firm, predicted the government would increase its assessment of GDP growth in the first quarter to 1% at an annual rate. They forecast continued growth in consumer spending, partly because of tax rebates and stimulus checks...

The question remains open, since recessions typically aren't officially diagnosed until some time after pain hits consumers. A common definition of a recession is at least two consecutive quarters of negative GDP. But the National Bureau of Economic Research -- the nonprofit group that is the official arbiter of when recessions begin and end -- defines a recession as a period of significant decline in economic activity across GDP, income, employment and retail sales that lasts more than a few months.

John Lonski, Moody's chief economist, said recent labor market data and signs the credit crunch is easing on Wall Street have made him less gloomy than he was a few months ago. In the latest WSJ.com survey of economists, conducted in May, he said the likelihood of a recession was 60% -- down from the 90% he predicted in the April survey...

Claims for unemployment benefits -- which typically rise well above 400,000 a week during recessions -- have stayed well below that level, and fell last week. In addition, the economy isn't shedding hundreds of thousands of jobs a month, as it usually does in an economic contraction. In April, employers cut just 20,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate fell.

Even Alan Greenspan, who in early April said the U.S. was in the "throes of recession" and is going through the "most wrenching" crisis since World War II, has more recently toned down the warnings, saying the U.S. is in an "awfully pale recession." George Soros, who has long argued the U.S. is headed for a major crisis, also recently remarked that the "acute phase" of the crisis has now passed.

To be sure, even economists who are becoming more upbeat say the U.S. may be in for a period of protracted sluggish growth...

"I think the problems are just starting," said Lehman Brothers economist Drew Matus, citing high gasoline prices and tightening lending standards, saying that prolonged stagnation can be worse than a recession.